


The Dawn of Chat Noir & Ladybug

by lilith_fegefeuer



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste is the main character, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - High School, Canon Rewrite, Fix-It, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Build, Slow Burn, adrinette is not end goal but it is technically still in here, because he's more interesting, because it kinda sucks, i guess?, more mature themes, none of the characters are totally terrible
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:41:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25481095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilith_fegefeuer/pseuds/lilith_fegefeuer
Summary: Adrien Agreste wants nothing more than the authentic high school experience-- to be a normal teen with normal friends; however, upon the rise of a straight-from-fiction type supervillain, he finds he'll have to put his wish on hold to help save the city.(A Miraculous Ladybug re-write taking place in high school.)
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Luka Couffaine
Comments: 8
Kudos: 36





	1. Origins

Adrien couldn’t stop himself from shaking. Whether it was from excitement or terror he couldn’t tell but assumed a bit of both. In the back of the car, his leg was bouncing non-stop, thumping against the floor, and seat in front of him.

“Adrien, you don’t have to go on the first day. If you’re too ner—“

“No!” Adrien interrupted. Nathalie turned to look at him, her eyebrow raised, “Sorry... I just want this all to be as normal as possible.”

Nathalie stared, then sighed and for a moment her glare softened before she fixed her gaze and turned. “It’s not going to be easy.”

“I know.” He mumbled.

Coming to the school, Adrien watched from the window. The building was much bigger than it had looked in the pictures. It was comprised of three buildings, one large central building at the forefront of the campus, and the two smaller buildings connecting to it. A number of teenagers milled about outside, some standing in groups while others hurried about. Immediately, Adrien thought how foreign they all looked to him. The people he’d been surrounded with nearly his whole life were older and taller than he was. He couldn’t remember the last time he saw someone outside of Chloe or Sabrina his age in real life on;y in T.V. shows or movies.

“We don’t have all day, Adrien.” Nathalie prodded, looking at him through the rear-view mirror. Quickly Adrien apologized and opened the door. Outside was warm, with a light breeze. A fresh wave of excitement rolled over him as he shut the door behind him, followed by a sudden spike of anxiety as he watched Nathalie and his driver leave. 

Adrien froze and watched the sea of people flow around him. His steps were slow, careful to weave in between people, gripping his bag tight. Coming to the building, he recognized the halls and the path he was meant to take from orientation. 

His room, room 321c, was mostly empty. The classroom, like many others in this building, was built with stacking rows of benches and desks facing the front. A handful of people dotted the room, sitting at desks around the room. As he came closer to the first table, he noticed two index cards, one with his name. Assuming it was his seat, he drew himself around the table and to the marked side of the bench.

“Hey, are you new?”

Having only sat his bag down, Adrien looked to his right where a teenager about his height set his bag, “Yeah... How’d you know?” he asked shyly, peering over to the name on the assignment card next to him: Nino.

“I pretty much know everyone in the school. I’m Nino by the way. Nice to meet you, dude.” Nino greeted. Immediately Adrien liked him, his whole demeanor was so different than what he was used to. It felt silly to be so excited to meet a ‘real teenager’. They were fast friends after that, chatting away— though it was mostly Nino telling him about the school and the people. Adrien was very keen to listen, trying to commit the details to memory.

As the rest of the students tricked in, a shrill voice broke above the rest.

“Adrikins!” Chloe beamed, “Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous! You didn’t tell me you were in my room!” She opened her arms and Adrien stood to meet her. Chloe’s greetings could be near-fatal at times and this was no exception as he felt the life squeezed from his chest. She kissed both his cheeks and finally let him catch his breath.

“Sorry,” he wheezed, rubbing the back of his neck. She rolled her eyes and flicked her wrist as he sat back in his seat.

“Whatever, we’ll talk more later,” She huffed and went to find her seat.

Adrien blinked a few times before looking to Nino, who was staring at him, “Uh, you got a little...” he pointed to both his cheeks. Immediately Adrien rubbed at them and could clearly see on his wrists Chloe’s lipstick. Feeling his face redden he swiped again at his cheek then looked to Nino for an update, who looked like he was trying not to laugh. Immediately Adrian began digging through his bag for tissues.

“You know Chloe?” Nino asked turning to see her take her seat. His voice was lowered and Adrien didn’t know why, but he followed suit and whispered.

“Yeah...? I’ve known her since I was three.”

“Really?” Nino pressed, and Adrien couldn’t help but feel confused. He couldn’t figure out why it was so shocking or why they had to whisper. Under his desk, his leg began bouncing quickly.

“What’s your last name?”

Adrien paled. “Agreste.”

“Wait— you’re Adrien Agreste?!” Nino exclaimed, and Adrien watched as eyes drew towards him. He hadn’t noticed that the room had nearly filled up by this point. “I thought you looked familiar, couldn’t place where. That must be pretty cool!”

“Really?” Came a girl’s voice from behind him, “He’s in almost every fashion magazine in Paris, and it took you that long?” She laughed, then looked to him, “Alya, by the way. And this—“

Alya nudged the girl next to her, who had been pointedly looking away, “Is Marinette.” Marinette nearly fell from her chair as Alya introduced her. Clearly, she was nervous... though Adrien would venture to say the word frantic may fit better. She knocked over her pencil case, then dove to retrieve it, only to hit her water bottle, which Alya righted.

“Hi!” She yelled suddenly.

The moment he opened his mouth to respond another girl was there, “Are you alright, Marinette? It looked like you were having a seizure.”

“No one asked, Lila!” Marinette huffed, and was promptly ignored as Lila looked down to Adrien. She put her hand out, “It’s so cool to meet you in person! I’m a huge fan.”

It took a lot to keep a smile as she spoke. He took her hand, “Oh, thank you. It’s always nice to meet fans.” He couldn’t count how many times he’d said that before, and still every time it made him cringe inside. It wasn’t her fault of course... and he shouldn’t complain, but he really had been hoping that maybe he could have had a normal school life. No fans, no favors asked of him— he’d really been hoping to just make friends like anyone else. He felt silly thinking back on it now... it was pretty naive of him to hope for that.

Lila smiled, and just as it seemed she was about to continue, the bell chimed.

“I’ll talk to you later, Adrien!” Lila sung, then blew a kiss. He smiled and nodded to her then sighed when she turned away.

Soon after, Miss Bustier joined the room, and the class grew quiet. For a moment he was able to clear his head, and just pretend as if no one noticed him. He could just seep into the background and disappear. 

When the lunch bell chimed, almost immediately there was a group around him. The girls from earlier, Chloe, Sabrina, and a number of others he hadn’t quite put names to faces yet. Too many people were talking for him to answer anyone. All he was able to do was look from person to person and smile or nod. 

Slowly he stood up, gathering his items and coming out from behind his desk. The group of people followed, continuing to orbit around him, asking questions, or trying to introduce themselves. He’d always hated being surrounded by people, hated having people’s attention, though usually, he at least had his guard there to at least keep people at arm’s length. In addition to all of that, he was afraid of what his classmates would think of him. He didn’t want to upset anyone or have them think he was some arrogant model. He just wanted to be normal.

”Stop crowing him guys,” Nino broke through, having made his way to Adrien’s side, “It’s his first day, give him some space! Come on, man.”

Nino had cleared a path to the door, and Adrien was keen to follow, waving goodbye to the group. As the door slowly fell shut behind him, Adrien let out a long tired sigh.

“That was crazy,” Nino seemed like he was surprised, “But don’t worry, they’re all pretty cool when you get to know them.”

Adrien smiled tiredly, looking at the floor as he walked, “Yeah, I hope I get the chance.” 

* * *

“I can’t believe that Adrien Agreste is really in our class!” Marinette squealed before her face fell and she buried her head in her arms, “And I can’t I messed up that bad!” she moaned. 

“Don’t overreact!” Alya chided, patting her back, “It wasn’t that bad.”

“He must think I’m an idiot” she cried, grabbing her hair, “and if he thinks I’m an idiot he probably thinks I’m incompetent, and if he thinks that he’ll tell his dad who will tell everyone!”

“I don’t think he cared. He seems pretty nice.” She shrugged, “Plus, I don’t think dropping your pencil case makes you a bad designer, girl.”

Eventually, Marinette picked up her head, “Still...” she whined, “it’s embarrassing! Then Lila came and made it worse...”

“You’ll have plenty of time, girl. It’s just the first day.” Alya picked up her bag from beside her and dug through, “Plus, I know what will make you feel better.” She pulled out a comic book with a colorful cover and put it in front of Marinette.

“When did you get this?!” Immediately she picked up the comic and read  _ ‘The Tales of Lady Justice and Sir Law’ _ . “They were sold out last time I went!”

“I guess they restocked.” Alya grinned, “I read it all last night, so you can borrow it.”

“You’re the best!” She squealed. The story of the strong and brave _ Lady Justice _ and her perhaps dim-witted but well-meaning side-kick  _ Sir Law _ and their countless battles against the infamous  _ Mr. Mask _ had been their favorite running comic since it’s debut. The titular  _ Lady Justice _ was printed on the cover, dressed in red, white, and blue, with a golden scale proudly held, while the dashing  _ Mr. Law  _ stood behind her dressed in a black suit. They spend hours sharing their theories and headcanons, discussing who was their favorite. Marinette’s was always  _ Lady Justice _ .


	2. The Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long... life is busy and so so boring at the same time.

Outside the sun was just beginning to rise over Paris. From his bed, Adrien watched out of the window and the light slowly grew stronger. He’d always been an early riser, even before he started at a real school. Mornings started early in the Agreste house. His schedule officially started at 7:30 on weekdays; however, Natalie would knock on his door at 6:00 AM. The alarm clock beside his bed read 5:53 AM, so in about ten minutes she’d be there, but until then he stared out of the window, allowing himself to be lazy as the sun rose. 

The schedule had hardly changed in the morning since school started— he’d shower, pick out his clothes, brush his hair, his teeth, (which was all done by 7:30), he’d have breakfast, which was a glass of water and a smoothie of some kind. Then at 7:45 he’d practice piano or finish up any last-minute projects he had to— though the ladder was frowned upon. At 8:20 he’d go to school, which started at 8:35.

The school offered him an entirely new routine. His classes were marked in an hour or an hour and a half blocks with a forty-minute break at 11:45 for lunch. Between each class, there was a five to ten-minute break as well which offered something he hadn’t had in some time— free time. Then he’d either finish what work he had to or he’d just talk with Nino or Chloe and Sabrina.

After the first day, there were still a few bumps in the road, but mostly it went much better. He’d met the rest of his class— and if the high school movies he’d watched were anything to go by, he’d gotten really lucky. Everyone he met was very friendly and they seemed to be a nice group of people. He didn’t think there was a single person he disliked— not even the teacher.

Nino and he continued to get along as well. Nino was nearly the polar opposite of Adrien in a lot of ways and he enjoyed that about him. Nino was outspoken and loud, where he tended to be more reserved, which likely would have been a culture shock if he hadn’t known Chloe. But more than that, his interests were something Adrien had never been exposed to. Nino made music— though nothing like what he was trained in. His music was synthetic for the most part and recorded. The style was a lot like Nino as well— loud and brash— the kind of music they play in party scenes in movies.

“I haven’t picked a name for this one yet. I’m thinking ‘Panther’ or something.” Nino explained, flicking his pen through his fingers. 

Pulling one of the earphones back, Adrien nodded, “Yeah! I can hear that. It’s like something’s running in the motif.”

The song comes to an end and Adrien returns the phone and headphones to Nino. For a moment Adrien goes on, telling him what parts he liked and though he tried to offer some critique (what Nino has asked of him) he really couldn’t find anything he didn’t like. There were definitely a few parts that weren’t technically correct, but honestly the parts the broke the rules sounded the best. He couldn’t help feeling a bit unhelpful when all he could come up with was lowering the volume of the clapping track. 

“I don’t know. It feels like it needs something.” Nino sighed. “Don’t you think it’s lacking something?”

“No,” he didn’t, “I think it’s amazing. Why are you so stressed?”

“There’s this contest,” Nino puffs, flicking through his phone, “I really want to get featured.” He hands his phone to Adrien who reads the flier. 

“‘Make an instrumental for Jagged Stone’?” Adrien read, and looked at the image of the man “Who’s that?”

Nino gaped, “He’s like— the most famous rock star in all of France! You really haven’t heard of him?”

“Sorry,” he says awkwardly, bouncing his leg under the table, “I guess not.”

The rest of their lunch break was spent with Nino playing his favorite songs by Jagged Stone. He promised to make Adrien a playlist when he got home. 

The rest the school day wasn’t as interesting and when the dismissal bell finally rang he was quick to pack his things. 

“Adrien! You will not believe what happened yesterday,” Sabrina squealed as she and Chloe approached. He’d made time for them after school most days— at least when he didn’t have anything else planned. 

“See ya tomorrow, dude! I’ll send the playlist ASAP.” Nino waved.

Immediately, Sabrina began a dramatic re-telling of how she and Chloe met a celebrity Adrien hadn’t heard of (he thought he should probably start to pay attention to famous people) in the salon. They made their way outside, along with most of the school. Chloe was just about to correct her on some detail when several car alarms went off down the street. 

Both Sabrina and Chloe paused for a moment. It wasn’t unusual to hear a car alarm go off, but not so much several at once. Just as they were about to write it off; however, a loud crash followed by screams of panic caught their attention. 

The crowd of students exiting the school froze. From several meters away they watched in horror as a car landed on its side— not as if it had crashed... as if it had been thrown. 

Coming from the same direction was what looked to be straight out of the transformers movies— a tall and intimidating man clad in robot armor. As he made his way down the street, he flung or crashed or smashed every car he came to. 

“Get back inside!” Adrien yelled. The man was coming closer, along with his dangerous wrath. 

He and a number of others sprinted to the door, however, briefly, he looked back to see the man coming to the line of cars in the pickup lane. He stopped. The car the man was reaching for had people inside.

Why he threw his book bag at the tall metal man, he didn’t know. Adrien could only stand in shock at his own choice to bolt back into harm's way and toss— of all things— his book bag at him. The car doors flung open and quickly the people inside sprinted towards the building. He and the man stared at each other and whatever bravado he had was gone. His legs wouldn’t move— in fact, he couldn’t move any part of him, too paralyzed with fear. 

A great metal hand reached down to him, but before it could grab him a purple light formed in front of the man like a mask. He stopped, his eyes were blank as if his mind was elsewhere and in the same second a bright red flash came down from the sky landing the man, sending him back several meters. Adrien stumbled back and as he did, he saw the woman, clad in red... and she looked at him. 

He was sure his heart stopped. 

She turned away, jumping after the man, swinging something in her hand. The moment she was gone, Adrien snapped out his haze and stood, about to run for the school, when something else caught his eye. An old man, standing in an alleyway, beckoning him. 

—

Marinette was about a block or so away from the school when she stopped. There were two men in the middle of the sidewalk arguing. One was dressed in bike gear, adamantly gesturing to what looked like a bike from under the car, while the other looked like he’d just gotten off a construction site. Marinette debated if she should go around them— but she thought that would be rude and maybe interrupting (or what if they brought her into it? What could she even say?!) or maybe cross the street but that seemed like overkill. She stood for another few moments, quickly trying to come to a decision when there was a flash of light and the biker was replaced by a giant metal man. 

All she could do was gape as he picked up the man’s car. The man turned and she realized very quickly the man was goi g to throw the car, and she was in the way. Instinct took over, she looked around her. Beside her was an old man with a cane and behind her was an alley. Marinette grabbed the man by the shoulders and pulled him back into the adjacent alley.

Seconds after, the car crashed into the pavement where she’d once been. The surprise knocked her from her feet as she stared at the vehicle.

“You saved my life.”

Marinette had nearly forgotten the old man was there, preoccupied with her own terror. She only found it in herself to nod. 

He smiled at her, “I believe you have the makings of a great hero in you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the comments! I read every one of them!! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Please tell me what you think of the story so far! I am always keen to hear feedback!


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